Odour
NOTICE TO RESIDENTS - independent evening surveying to be conducted in and around Munster area. Please click here for more information.
We are aware that members of the community have identified that
there is an odour in the local area that impacts upon their
lifestyle. The majority of complaints about odour have come from
areas within the Kwinana Air Quality
Buffer.
Since 2003 a wide range of potential odour sources have been
investigated at the Munster Plant. None of the investigations
undertaken have proved definitive in identifying the precise source
of odour emissions.
While the Munster Plant is the major focus of complaints, there
are other identified sources of odour in the area including the
Woodman Point Waste Water Treatment plant, a local foundry, local
market gardens and a City of Cockburn landfill site.
In the same way we are tackling dust issues, we are also working to reduce odour emissions and have been proactively addressing it for a number of years in consultation with the Department of Conservation and Environment (DEC) and, more recently, through our Environmental Improvement Plan.
Community Odour Assessment Study
We are working with an independent consultancy Emission Assessments to
undertake a comprehensive Odour Assessment Study. The study is a
condition of our environmental operating licence and we have been
working with the DEC and Emission Assessments to prepare the
scientific scope of the study.
Community representation is a critical part of the study so
residents in the locality of the sampling areas are needed to
participate as observers. Members of the community within the
assessment area have been invited to take part in the study, which
will involve field odour observation and technical record
keeping.
Prior to the odour study, the technical survey team and community
members will be required to attend an information session at the
Munster Plant and will familiarise themselves with the odours and
their sources at the Plant. This will assist in the
recognition phase of the odour program.
Community members who participate will also be:
- Trained in the use of record keeping documentations
- Visited regularly by Emission Assessments staff to capture odour records
- Provided with feedback on the process undertaken to evaluate records
The sampling areas approved by the DEC for the study are located around the Munster Plant and are shown on the map below.
